Ask anyone running a small business in Nigeria and they will let you know it is only ‘small’ in name, the challenges are enormous.
The hoops business owners in Nigeria have to jump through seem endless, it takes grit and determination to build a successful business in these conditions.
However, some of these challenges are not insurmountable, here are some of the challenges Nigerian businesses face, and how you can defeat them:
Insufficient funds
There’s no way around it; small businesses need funds to grow from a small business to a big business and to even multinational funding.
Unfortunately, most small business owners in Nigeria have no idea where to get the funds they so badly need. So what can Nigerian small business owners do? You can explore various ways of ...

Chima has been a graphic designer at a Lagos-based eCommerce startup for five years now, he enjoys making the creatives at the company and he is good at what he does, in two years he has risen to become the head of the creative unit at the company.
As much as Chima loves what he does, his dream has always been to start his own creative company producing Nigerian comics and animated series.
He wants to quit his job at the eCommerce company and create comics full time but his dilemma is how to fund his new business because we all know running a small business in Nigeria or anywhere else requires available cash to meet your needs.
So how can he raise money to fund his business? Here are some of the options Chima ...

We have continued to look at places where businesses big or small in Nigeria can get capital for their business because we understand the importance of timely access to funds for businesses.
This list of places are not all in Nigeria, but they provide access to funds for Nigerian businesses. You can find the list of other places where businesses can get capital here, here and here.
1. RenMoney
RenMoney offers customers unsecured cash loans of up to N2.5 million for a tenor that ranges from three to nine months for new customers, returning customers enjoy longer tenor of twelve months. This available for either salary earners or self-employed a verifiable source of income is provided.
Find out more about RenMoney ...

Our series of places to get funding from continues. This week, we are featuring 7 of such places that offer to fund different types of businesses. Look through and see if any of them are offering what you are looking for.
1. YIEDP- Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship Development Programme
Launched in 2016, this Heritage Bank and CBN initiative, in its pilot phase, seeks to create opportunities for about 10,000 youths and is open to artisans, youth corps members and those with not more than five years of post-NYSC experience.
Collateral requirements for the participation in the program include assets such as academic and NYSC certificates, third-party guarantees and other moveable assets for all the successful candidates.
More information here.
2. US African Development Foundation USADF
USADF’s funding agreements range between $50,000 ...

Last week we compiled a list of 9 places your Nigerian small business can get funding from. That list is by no means exhaustive as we know there a quite a number of these places to access funding. This is a continuation, we hope to continue adding more of these places, hopefully, you can find the perfect place for the fund for that business of yours.
1. Bank of Agriculture
Headquartered in Kaduna, the Bank of Agriculture provides credit to support all activities in the agricultural value chain. This it does through either direct lending to qualified loan applicants engaged in agricultural and non-agricultural small businesses or through providing credit facilities to issuing organizations through its on-lending service.
Contact them here
2. Shell LiveWIRE
Shell describes its liveWIRE program as a social investment ...

Funding is arguably one of the biggest challenges small businesses in Nigeria face, the problem is however, not unique to Nigeria alone. The World Bank estimates that “50% of SMEs lack access to finance, which hinders their growth”.
This does not mean there are no places and organisations small businesses in Nigeria can raise capital, here are 9 of such organisations.
1. Bank of Industry
Bank of Industry Limited (BOI) is arguably Nigeria’s largest successful development financing institution. Providing financial assistance for the establishment of large, medium and small projects.
Its programmes include matching funds and managed funds, many of which target small and medium scale enterprises. An example is the Federal Department of Agriculture (FDA) Cottage Fund.
http://www.boi.ng/
2. Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme
The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme ...